Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic torch relay to tour Italy.The Olympic flame for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games will begin a tour around Italy in Rome on 6 December, culminating in its arrival at Milan's San Siro Stadium for the opening ceremony on 6 February.The sacred fire, lit last week in Ancient Olympia, Greece, will be handed over to Italy on 4 December in a solemn event at the Quirinale Palace in Rome in the presence of Italian president Sergio Mattarella. Over the course of 63 days, the flame will crisscross all 20 Italian regions, taking in more than 300 towns and cities in a relay spanning 12,000 kilometres and involving around 10,000 torchbearers. "Every step of the journey through our cities will remind the world of the power of sport in building bridges and breaking down barriers" - Giovanni Malagò, president of the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation, stated - "It will be a journey that intertwines roots and future, hospitality and innovation, celebrating the best of the Italian spirit." The torch relay will pass cultural heritage landmarks including Rome's Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain, Milan's Duomo and Venice's Grand Canal, along with places that represent resilience and rebirth, such as Amatrice - devastated by an earthquake in 2016 - and Scampia - the Neapolitan neighbourhood undergoing a major regeneration project. The torch will be in Naples for Christmas and will celebrate New Year's Eve in Bari, while on 26 January it will return to Cortina d'Ampezzo, exactly 70 years after the opening ceremony of the 1956 Games. The journey will conclude with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron in Milan on the night of 6 February 2026, officially launching the Olympic Winter Games. Photo credit: Ververidis Vasilis / Shutterstock.com.

The Olympic flame for the will begin a tour around Italy in Rome on 6 December, culminating in its arrival at Milan's for the opening ceremony on 6 February. The sacred fire, lit last week in Ancient Olympia, Greece, will be handed over to Italy on 4 December in a solemn event at the Quirinale Palace in Rome in the presence of Italian president Sergio Mattarella. Over the course of 63 days, the flame will crisscross all 20 Italian regions, taking in more than 300 towns and cities in a relay spanning 12,000 kilometres and involving around 10,000 torchbearers. "Every step of the journey through our cities will remind the world of the power of sport in building bridges and breaking down barriers" - Giovanni Malagò, president of the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation, - "It will be a journey that intertwines roots and future, hospitality and innovation, celebrating the best of the Italian spirit." The torch relay will pass cultural heritage landmarks including Rome's Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain, Milan's Duomo and Venice's Grand Canal, along with places that represent resilience and rebirth, such as - devastated by an earthquake in 2016 - and  - the Neapolitan neighbourhood undergoing a major regeneration project. The torch will be in Naples for Christmas and will celebrate New Year's Eve in Bari, while on 26 January it will return to Cortina d'Ampezzo, exactly 70 years after the opening ceremony of the 1956 Games. The journey will conclude with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron in Milan on the night of 6 February 2026, officially launching the Olympic Winter Games. Photo credit: Ververidis Vasilis / Shutterstock.com.